CONTEMPORARY ITALIAN ARTISTS

Selections from “Archivio Collezione Ghigi-Pagnani” (Ravena)

Official opening:

26 May, Monday, 6:00 pm

“Alma Mater” Gallery, North Wing,

Rectorate of Sofia University

The exhibition presents works by five contemporary Italian artists – Daniele Cestari, Roberto Pagnani, Paola Babini, Mauro Bendandi and Kiara Righi – included in the “Asylum” project, envisioned by Denitza Nedkova (“Archivio Collezione Ghigi-Pagnani”, Ravenna) and implemented in partnership with the Cultural Center of the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. “Asylum” meditates on the freedom of the creative process and the position of the author in the context of the limitations imposed on art by institutions and guilds as well as by the market. For this purpose the exhibition presents works by established contemporary artists alongside with those by promising new talents, giving them a kind of “refuge” in the “Alma Mater” gallery at Sofia University.

Daniele Cestari was born in 1983 and graduated with a degree in Architecture and Urban Planning in 2009. His education exerts a strong influence on his artistic quests since, self-educated in the field of painting and photography, Cestari prefers to be identified as an “architect who paints”. His works question and seek the true nature of the urban environment, demonstrating both its fascinating dynamics that resemble those of a living being and alienation in the city. Chestari’s works have been shown at numerous exhibitions, including at the Venice Biennale (2011) and AAF, London.

Roberto Pagnani was born in Bologna in 1970, but lives and works in Ravenna. Pagnani grew up in a family connected to the art world for generations, which exposed him to the works of important artists in the field of Informalism from an early age. He has won numerous awards for his artworks, which are presented both in Italy and on the international art scene. His works are included in various Italian and international public and private collections. Pagnani is regarded as one of the prominent descendants of the Italian Informale.

Paola Babini is a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna and Ravenna. Her academic and artistic pursuits in painting are enriched by the use of other forms of expression such as installation and photography. Her works are strongly tied to the concept of “miracle”, presented in the joint use of different materials. Paola Babini participates in the current exposition with mixmedia installation artworks created without any restrictions on materials or techniques.

Mauro Bendandi was born in 1973 in Ravenna. He works in the fields of painting and graphic design. Although Bendandi is trained as an artist in the context of the aesthetic movements of the late 20th century, he managed to construct an original style of his own that has a clear tangency with the Arte Povera, the Informalism, the Nuoveau Realism and American Pop Art. His works have been selected in numerous art contests. Bendandi has participated in many exhibitions in public and private galleries in Italy.

Chiara Righi is the youngest of the presented artists – born in 1987 in Modena, she graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna and has been awarded at several art contests. Righi has participated in one solo exhibition (Turin, 2012) and in two joint ones. In her work she focuses on the theme of the trauma of abandonment.